Tyra Banks Talks Weight & Self-Esteem On HuffPost Live (VIDEO)

Tyra Banks may just be one of the last people one would feel sorry for in the looks department. But even though the supermodel has managed to conquer both the fashion and television worlds, don't think she's without an appearance sob story of her own.

When I was 11 years old, I grew three inches and lost 30 pounds in three months. So I went from being a mean bully, cute little chubby little girl to shooting up, [weighing] 98 pounds and just looking sick and frail. I wasn't sick, but people thought there was something wrong with me. I was the brunt of every joke, every bad thing. I hated my reflection in the mirror. I would try to stuff food down my throat to gain weight. Nothing would work. I lived at the hospital with needles in my arms trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

Even though I later gained weight and became a supermodel, that girl always lived inside of me and I know what that felt like. Then to become a supermodel with all of this hair and makeup and glamour... Then I start projecting images that I know make my 11-year-old self insecure, I felt like I had and still have a responsibility to tell the truth and to talk about my pains, my issues. So my passion is girls and self-esteem.